Arc Loves You For You
Diversity and inclusion is important to Arc for many reasons. It goes without saying that D&I is morally the right thing for any company, and individual, to think about and action. We want to earn the trust and commitment of our Employees, Team Members, Clients and Suppliers by being ethical leaders in our industry and being a company that is inclusive of everyone in the Arc team.
A diverse company means nothing if it is not an inclusive company. It is vital we are a safe employer in which all of our Employees and casual Team Members feel heard, welcome and valued. Arc loves you for you – and we really mean that. We want everyone at Arc to come as they are and know they will be welcomed, accepted, heard and defended at all costs.
As a company, it is important that we not only have a diverse office team that reflects our casual Team Members but also reflects our market and society. This encourages a more positive workplace, a better and deeper understanding of the market and our stakeholders, as well as opening doors to untapped talent, knowledge, experience and innovation. Without this, we as a company cannot grow to the levels we strive to achieve. We can make a huge impact on our industry by challenging traditional archaic views and leading by example to enact change in society.
It’s important that our Employees, Team Members, Clients and suppliers share our values and together, we look to continue to educate and get comfortable with the uncomfortable. This will both empower us and our Team Members. Together, we can make a difference.
It is important to note – we are not perfect, and we know that. We are learning, educating and trying to do better. We know there is a lot to learn, unpick and change – not just looking at ourselves, but our industry too. Are we going to make mistakes along the way? Of course, we are! Are we going to learn from our mistakes? Yes, absolutely!!
Never underestimate the power of the individual. Collectively, we are unstoppable.
We are creating an inclusive and diverse work environment at Arc through a series of initiatives:
To make sure you can reach us with any welfare issue, we have a dedicated Arc person to report any grievances to. They can be made to our Head of Commercial, Courtney Wakes or our Inclusion Officer, Sarah King, who is championing inclusion practices across the office and can help you with any diversity issues.
We have built a culture upon transparency and honesty which is why we want all of our team members to feel empowered to say something if they feel that it isn’t right.
Whether that be with someone’s behaviour or words, we stand strong against any form of discrimination. However, we understand that it can be an awkward situation to approach, here are some phrases that you can use to address inappropriate behaviour:
“Focusing on DE&I will not only boost productivity but should also improve how attractive we are as a business to potential employees and how happy current employees are in the workplace.
“It’s also the right thing to do. No one should ever feel less happy, included, or respected in the workplace because of who they are.”
Michael Gavin, Director of Arc
At Arc, we’re big on accepting people for who they are and believe that nobody should feel that they must change who they are to be accepted by others. In a society which can be unkind and judgemental, it takes a great amount of courage to be confident and proud of the person you are.
Yoko Ono once said “You change the world by being yourself” and we have built our Social Inequalities Pillar on this philosophy, we truly believe that we can make a real change in the industry by living and breathing this principle.
Our open culture and friendly workforce means that our team members are comfortable with discussing any issues that they may have, allowing us to take further steps towards eliminating social inequalities.
When you join Arc, you are joining a positive movement that is devoted to making positive changes to a vital industry that plays a huge part in so many people’s lives.
Black History Month – Used To It, A Documentary
A short documentary in which Arc discusses with five of their Team Members their experiences of racism in the UK and in the workplace, specifically, the hospitality industry. An eye-opening insight into the lives of black people living within the UK and a wake-up call that there is still much work to do in the combat against social inequalities.
We are working on developing our own Arc resources specifically for the needs of our Team. In the meantime, here are some useful resources and social media accounts that we recommend having a look over:
The Mix charity – https://www.themix.org.uk/ Essential support for under 25s
Your D+I – https://www.yourdandi.co.uk/ – Resources: Diversity & Inclusion Resources | Pronoun Particulars | The A to T of LGBT+ | Diversity & Inclusion Hub
Social media accounts: @_LanguageMatters @EverydayRacism_